With the global incidence of non⁃alcoholic fatty liver disease increasing year by year，the inter⁃national expert group and the Asia⁃Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver have officially changed the name of non ⁃alcoholic fatty liver disease to metabolic associated fatty liver disease in the new guideline for further understanding of its pathogenesis. This conceptual change will bring new opportunities and challenges to clinical diagnosis and treatment and academic research. The aims of this article were to summarize the initiation and further explore of the conceptual change and its impact on clinical practice.